Birthday Celebrating

Yesterday was my husband's 39th birthday. This is Jeremy's last year, and mine, in our 30's...And today was our son Hudson's 5th birthday. We took a drive to the pretty town of Lanesboro and rented some bikes for a 10 mile bike ride, and then buying some bikes for Hudson and Annalise on the way home.

In our car ride we had plenty of time to talk. We talked about how old we are...I can remember when I was in woodworking class in the 7th grade, getting my 80's permed hair stuck in the drill and having the instructor help take the drill apart to get it out, all frizzed and singed. And the stuck-up girls in my home-ec class with their Esprit bags laying on the floor, stepping one on accidentally as I was flipping pancakes at the stove and one girl saying, "you're stepping on my Esprit." Later, I even had an Esprit bag. :)

Later, at home we sang and had Panda bear Birthday cake, chocolate cake on the inside with cream cheese frosting on the outside. Don't laugh! I decorated it myself.

We are loving the Minnesota summer and the green countrysides right now. Huge change from the cement and well-manicured gardens in Shanghai.  Though we will miss all the folks in the park doing their tai chi and group dances. I am so thankful we have the next couple weeks free before my husband's new job starts. I am so proud of him!

Annalise lost her front teeth, so cute!!

Here are some photos from our last week in Shanghai...

Sayde on the glass floor of the Pearl Tower

Our hilarious shoe choices that day

Annalise's favorite building in Shanghai

Visit Home

We are now back at our home in Shanghai after a visit home to the States. Finally a rainy-looking, foggy morning here in the city so I felt like catching up on our news. Jeremy's Grandpa passed away this month in Illinois and we were able to travel there for his funeral, see Jeremy's relatives and attend church on Easter Sunday. It was a last minute surprise visit. Our kids did great on this visit and were very happy. We travelled from there to Minnesota to stay with our families. The only people who knew we were coming was my sister and Jeremy's sister!



Wheelbarrel ride from Gandy





Toddlers!

Returning to Shanghai was a much more difficult, sacrificial decision this time around. Last July when we first arrived it was a big adventure. This time we know what we are getting into and all the normal difficulties we face in every day life. We've learned to rely on God more for everything and to do hard things, because this is hard. On our visit we had the freedom and the luxury for two weeks of driving our family around in a vehicle, with everyone safely buckled into their own seats, and safety seats for the kids!

We all crammed into a taxi cab on the way back to our apartment from the airport, all five of us to four seats and only one working seatbelt in one seat. Taxi minivans don't exist here. Sayde's car seat was back in our apartment, never used here. Though we did have a nice chat with our taxi driver in Chinese. I wish we could take taxis more often. So when I say that it is a sacrifice to live daily life here overseas, I do not believe that it is to sacrifice our children. Big difference! God made it very clear about 4,000 years ago with Abraham that He does not approve of or call for that.

We still haven't figured out transportation, that is why we only take the Metro/Subway on a normal basis and we are comfortable with that. Thankfully we live right next door to a station. If you lived in Shanghai you would see me often carrying or strolling Sayde while holding onto both kids' hands as we go to the subway or walk to the park. If we live here longer, I would like to get bicycles - not motorized - with a baby seat and a wagon in the front. This is a European style and it can carry more than one child!

Now I will write about some positive, happy stories in our family. The jet-lag from our travels re-set the kids' bedtimes. Within the first week back in Shanghai, the kids were going to bed at 6:00 pm and waking at 6:00 am. They are now going to bed around 8:00 pm most nights and waking from 6:00 am and 7:00 am. Hudson's chapped mouth and chin is almost healed up now after we found a jelly contained in an orange tube, his favorite color. He applies it all by himself. Sayde has been running around at the children's playground giggling and going down the slides over and over again all by herself. She said hello in Chinese all by herself to the man in our hallway who smokes by the window. When eating, she can say "bao le" when she is full.

We like our new Chinese teacher and can sneak in some spiritual language with her. While we don't teach English, we do bring up words or language that we want to learn in Chinese and can chat in Chinese over things such as fear - how we have no fear when we are in Christ.

Sayde on the slide

Almost 8 months!

It's almost 8 months now since we came to Shanghai, and Spring has arrived. There are flowers budding on the trees and a few warm, sunny days before the rain starts this spring. Around the six month mark was when we finally experienced some homesickness and a little culture shock. For me, the mama, this usually involves being protective of my kids and getting tired of being looked at all the time. Hudson has a rash below his mouth from licking his chin often. We don't know if it is from the winter weather, nervousness, or just a habit. He gets comments and looks to no end on this. He hates it when I sneak up and put vanicream or aloe vera plant on his face. On a positive note, yesterday at the park I had at least three gentlemen give me positive comments and looks on my three children. God is opening my eyes to the beauty of the people around us. They are so precious and we are privileged to live here.  

 I finally paid for the kids to go on rides at the park for the first time since living here. Ayi is helping them on their horses while Sayde is with me, taking a nap. Before that, Sayde practiced going up and down the stairs with Annalise close by. Sayde is almost 18 months old. She says too many words to count now, including hello to people in Chinese.

Below are also some more pictures of the kids in dress-up clothes sent from Jeremy's aunt in America. We recently made a trip to our local post office to send some letters to Oma and Gamma. The kids miss them so much and it has been a real challenge getting our video conversations to work! Old-fashioned handwritten letters is still important. 

And, we have another Chinese teacher who we meet with twice a week. Annalise is doing really well with her. I also like her alot and spend lots of time just talking in Chinese with her while Jeremy keeps the kids quiet. Next week he will need to have more lesson time in business terminology. Those of our readers who are lifting up kinds of people, remember our Chinese teacher. I have such a heart for both of our teachers and want to see God's plans and purposes unfold in their lives.

A Normal Day with Our Three Little Superheros

Yesterday I took the kids to an indoor playground to meet a friend.  The kids were able to get some energy out and play while we talked here and there for 20 minutes. We stopped at the restroom on the way out and as I was busily helping the kids wash their hands while washing mine with Sayde in my front pack carrier, many of the other ladies in the restroom were watching us closely. One handed me a paper towel to dry my hands with and another one brought up the fact that I have three children. This is brought up on a constant basis as soon as we step outside our door :) This time the lady gave me a thumbs up and basically told me that I am doing a good job. That meant the world to me.

 Our kids have been having fun with their new superhero costumes from Gamma and Gandy. Even before they had them they would improvise with just about anything to create costumes and capes. Now even Sayde enjoys dressing up with the other two... 

Below, Hudson likes to play "Abe Lincoln" after we read a story together about his life, how he would bundle up his belongings in a hankerchief and tie it up on a stick to carry over his shoulder and travel around through the woods practicing speeches. He packs all his clothes, underwear and pajamas in blankets and carries them with him everywhere...

Below is our school shelf with books we are reading together throughout the year. Some Annalise will be able to read by herself soon, others we are reading aloud as stories. Little take-out containers when washed well make good crayon and marker containers later :)

Sayde loves to hold the music player and hum along, dancing and bobbing up and down to the kid's songs...they are memory verses for the kids to learn set to songs, such as "Children obey your parents..." which is set to a salsa music tune. I wish I could share the video!

Another lunch date with Jeremy at the coffee shop next door. The new Chinese year's animal is the ram sheep. For the new Chinese year fireworks will be set off all the time the next couple of weeks. We live far enough in the inner rings of the city where they are not allowed to be set off, but right next to the border line area, so people will be setting them off still quite close since it's kind of a gray borderline area. Whenever we do hear them we immediately say, "oooh, pretty" to Sayde so she will not be scared of the loud sounds!

This is our third bedroom which is the guest room where my parents stayed. Right now all 3 kids share a bedroom, but after Sayde is ready to sleep with Annalise in the big double bed in their room Hudson can then move into this room. After reading The Boxcar Children story together, about some orphaned kids who lived in an empty boxcar in the woods until they were happily adopted by their Grandfather at the end of the book, we now pretend that this is the "boxcar room" and the kids play in here...

We are exploring possibilities of hosting a small group in our apartment from the international fellowship, but haven't heard of any interest in it yet from other families with small children in our area. We are hoping that can come together eventually. 

-Lisa

Lisa's Parents Visit in January

We just spent a very blessed three weeks with my parents staying with us. They arrived safely on January 9th in the evening just in time for some Chinese beef stew I had made, and the next couple of nights they were in bed quite early recovering from the jet lag. We remembered our flight with the kids and how we felt that first couple of weeks, the dizziness and tiredness. In Shanghai, you often feel dizzy from all the tall buildings. But my parents recovered within a day or two and were excited to get out and explore our city with us :)

The first week we went to two of our closest parks, all three of the large shopping malls that surround us on every side, the Shanghai Museum, and to our international church which they loved. We have a very good worship service, but I often don't hear the messages after singing is over because Sayde is up. She is not happy in the nursery so I won't leave her there. She is still very dependent on me and nursing day and night, but Jeremy and I were able to go out on a date one evening while my parents babysat. We went to a restaurant close by and came home just in time, Sayde had been crying for one whole hour. So, no overnights away from Sayde for me yet! I have yet to be able to go on any women's retreats either. There is no way it would be appropriate to leave my baby at home overnight. Maybe by the time she turns two...

Later on in the middle of the night we were up with both Sayde and Annalise sick, they were throwing up. The rest of the week everyone in our home was sick at different times, but the nice part is that my parents decided to change their plans and extend their stay for one more week! My parents were able to attend Jeremy's company dinner and watch him dance the hip-hop penguin shake on stage with all his co-workers, and help me with the kids at our table with all the many fancy, delicious food dishes. The next weekend, Jeremy and my Dad were able to go the Crossfit Iron Dragon for a WOD and brought t-shirts home for us to proudly wear. I would have loved to join them. It is still not very popular among Chinese women's fashion to be strong; rather, the fashion is to be skinny. This crossfit gym is the first authentic crossfit gym within China, and hopefully "strong is the new skinny" will become popular here also. We did some crossfit workouts at home as well. My mom and I did a 50 squats, 40 sit ups, 30 pushups, 20 lunges and 20 burpees WOD and the kids did stairs in our building to the top floor with my dad. I think our building has over 40 floors.

We also spent the last week of my parents visit shopping for clothes, something we normally never have time for! My mom and I went out twice looking at sweater tunics, shoes, and coats. Annalise and I found some boots at a sale next door to our building. Hers are pink with fuzzy material on the inside and mine are black ankle boots with silver crosses dangling from the zippers. It is easy to find my size in clothing and shoes here! And, Jeremy visited a local taylor shop at our market and had a complete suit sewn up for him, and it fit perfectly. Although he mistakenly had white pants made instead of black ones that he had to have for his penguin dance, but luckily he had some black ones already at home that he wore.

The rest of the time we spent on homeschool. We started the Sonlight curriculum core and get to spend time every day reading fun books together like the Boxcar Children. We also are reading lots of Bible, geography, history, and travelling adventure stories. Having a schedule with plenty to do each day has made homeschooling so much easier for me. We try to take field trips and outings as much as possible (lately it has been cold and rainy outdoors), and include as much practical life skills as we can. Rather than trying to imitate the classroom experience as if our kids are missing out on not attending school, we believe that they have an advantage over school attending children in that they learn more practical life skills by not sitting at a desk all day.

Now we are feeling kind of lonesome and homesick, our apartment feels so empty with no visitors. But we know we are placed here for a reason and have a destiny that we cannot yet see. For those last few weeks our home was very similar to a Chinese home with extended family living with us. Many Chinese families have parents living in and they take care of each other in many ways, leading to not only a more lively home but a more orderly one as well with so many adults around to care for the kids. Here are some pictures of our time together...

Annalise and Gamma

Sayde is wearing one of my baby dresses

Sayde with Gandy

Sayde loved having the snake tied around her waste :)

Annalise playing resturant

Jeremy is up on stage doing the penguin shake on the right

family photo in some bamboo

blowing bubbles

Happy New Year - 新年快乐！

Jeremy has two days off from work this week and we have been resting and recovering from our colds.  Last week Jeremy did not have any days off from work. I am so thankful to have him home and have a few days free. Yesterday we went to the Mr. Pancake House for brunch and tried to take a walk in the park, but it felt too cold with our headaches and earaches. We should recover soon though, especially by next week when my parents come to stay with us for two weeks!

Here is some artwork of the nativity and manger scene Annalise and Hudson made, and our simple, fun Christmas tree, called a "Shengdan shu." Annalise also made a piece titled "heaven" which we used as wrapping paper for a gift to a friend of ours.

The manger scene by Annalise & Hudson

"Shengdan Shu"

Remember to think about the lives that were lost on New Years Eve and their family members. We care a lot about the people in our city and want them to find hope, faith, and life.